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Bill Pollian Cuts his Radio Show Short

Bill Polian called out by Colts fans on his call-in radio show, gets defensive, seemingly ends show early [UPDATED]
by BigBlueShoe on Dec 28, 2009 7:29 PM EST in Colts News 512 comments

If you were a Colts fan within range of an Indianapolis or an Internet connection, you likely listened to the Bill Polian Show this evening. This show is a regular for Bill, where he takes calls from fans from 6pm-7pm on local Indy station HANK FM. However, if you tuned in this evening, what you heard were some very irate but thoughtfully articulate Colts fans essentially tell Bill Polian that his excuses for pulling starters against the Jets were unacceptable to the Colts fanbase (our open thread for the show is here).

•One caller claimed Polian and the Colts had run from the win.
•Another caller, a polite but obviously agitated lady, brought up the point that it was unfair to charge fans high ticket prices during a recession only to see the team pull starters.
•Another fan, which happened to be the last caller of the show, challenged Polian by stating the obviously: The Colts did not put forth a maximum effort to win because they pulled their starters at a critical time in the game.
All of this resistance to Polian, the Colts, and their excuses for not trying to win the ballgame seemed too much for the Colts president. Midway through the final caller, with about ten minutes to go in the show, the show was cut-off. The station immediately threw in music and commercial filler, and thus, the Bill Polian Show was abruptly ended. Perhaps there was a technical failure. Perhaps a major FM radio station in a somewhat large metro area lost their feed. Perhaps one day flaming monkey will shoot magically from my butt. [UPDATE]: Turns out the feed from HANK FM did indeed die because the show was heard in its entirety at 1070 The Fan, the AM station that also carries the Bill Polian Show. Bad, bad, BAD timing to have a feed like that go dead! We have more on this in another article, including a possible explanation as to why Polian was seemingly not present with Bob Lamey for the show's wrap-up.

To put what happened in a proper context, just like pulling the starters Sunday, Bill Polian seemed to pull himself out of the show early to avoid further injury.

Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.

More on this catastrophe of a game and a show after the jump.

To start, Bill Polian's relationship with fans is now severely damaged. It might not even be salvageable. Hoosiers do not take kindly to people belittling their opinions, which is what Polian has done these last 24 hours to Colts fans. I also do not think he or the other powers-that-be in the Colts organization really knew just how much fan backlash there would be against this decision. They seem to be genuinely dumbstruck that people would be this pissed because the Colts pissed away a game.

There is just no way to rationally defend the babbling, logically-flawed nonsense he started his show with, and his attitudes towards the very polite, very understandably upset Colts fans seemed to write a new definition for the word "rude." I feel sorry for the Colts PR Department. I really do. No amount of scrubbing and Mr. Clean will be able to easily wash away the murder scene that was the 12/28/09 airing of the Bill Polian Show.

After making a bunch of claims that how winning 23 straight games was important and getting the most wins in a decade was important but going 16-0 wasn't (huh?), Bill Polian started taking some callers. To HANK FM's credit, they did not seem to screen the callers for obvious Polian bootlickers. For this, we commend HANK FM.

The people who called in seemed to gracefully and articulately express the anger fans had towards the decision. The lady caller (whose name escapes me) offered one of the best arguments, but Polian's response to her was anything but articulate or graceful. He accused her on air of reading from "talking points," and did not allow her to respond to his accusation. The final caller, who was cut off when the show was seemingly stopped short ten minutes early, was the one who sounded as if he got the under Polian's skin. He stated pretty much what many of us have said the last 24 hours. Polian made a claim that the Colts give maximum effort during every game, and expect that effort from players, coaches, and personnel people. The caller countered with an obvious, and devastating retort: Benching starters at a critical time in a ball game is NOT giving maximum effort to win.

This seemed to drive Polian nuts.

Polian then countered, with his voice much more animated, by asking the caller what would do if he ran the Indianapolis Colts with the upcoming game against the Buffalo Bills. Would he force injured players to play in a meaningless game? The caller countered that such a request or situation was not what he and other fans were questioning. The caller then seemed to make the point that Peyton Manning, Dallas Clark, and Reggie Wayne were all pulled from the football game yesterday at a critical time, and the benchings were not injury-related. The issue wasn't playing injured players. The issue was benching healthy ones when the game was still winnable.

It was at this point that the broadcast went dead.

When the dust settles from all this, the damage done between the Colts organization and the fans will be quite severe. Bill Polian did nothing last night to stop the angry tide against him. If anything, he incited more. The man is an abject failure at public relations and has seemingly no regard for fans or their opinions.

Dear Jim Irsay, lock this guy up somewhere and cool him off. That, or give him a rattle and a diaper. Either way, keep him away from hard-working, loyal Colts fans, because he clearly doesn't like it when they hold him to adult-like standards of accountability and respect.

Share Update on Bill Polian supposedly storming off from his radio show last night
by BigBlueShoe on Dec 29, 2009 10:47 AM EST in Colts News 81 comments

Like you, I'm sick of reading about Bill Polian (much less writing about him), but I received an important update on the situation that happened last night on his show.

My pal Eric Hartz, who is one of the better people at ColtPower.com, sent me an email suggesting that the HANK FM feed might have been the reason the show went dead at roughly ten minutes prior to the show ending, which is also the point when we all think Polian supposedly stormed off the set of his radio show.

Eric was listening to the show on 1070 The Fan, which is on AM and carries the Bill Polian Show along with 97.1 HANK FM (the show's main station). For him, the show was not cut short, and the final caller was not cut-off. After the last caller (and, I'm assuming, a commerical break), Bob Lamey came back on air and wrapped up the show. I'm trying to confirm if it was Lamey, and only Lamey, that did the show wrap-up. Usually, Polian sticks around to do the wrap-up with Lamey, talking about the next opponent, the playoffs, answering any final questions, etc. If it was only Lamey doing the show wrap-up, that seems to suggest Polian did storm off the set, just not at the time we originally thought he did.

Regardless of whether he left the show early or not, Polian's treatment of fans last night was disrespectful, rude, and unbecoming of a team president. He owes the fans an apology.

Again, reading and writing about Bill Polian right now has me feeling about as sick as you do. But, with an important update like this from a strong and reliable source like Eric, I gotta post it. Thanks in advance for understanding.

With Colts fans angry, Polian radio show ends early
Buzz up!Like this story? Share it with Yahoo! Buzz As president of the Indianapolis Colts, Bill Polian without question has been one of the most effective NFL executives during the past decade. Perhaps the best.

Before that he made the personnel moves that helped get the Buffalo Bills to three Super Bowls, plus one more the season after he left.

But none of that mattered last night when he took calls from irate Colts fans on his weekly radio show on HANK-FM.

StampedeBlue.com reports the show ended about 10 minutes early, apparently because of the wave of outrage over Indianapolis pulling its starters early in Sunday's loss to the Jets. As the website said, Polian essentially pulled himself early this time.

Callers drilled Polian's logic that injured players need to be protected, pointing out that the key ones who were benched -- Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark -- didn't have any health issues.

Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz also wrote that his office received so many e-mails protesting the move that "you'd think this team just finished its sixth straight 3-13 season."
Posted by Tom Weir at 06:25 AM/ET, December 29, 2009 in NFL | Permalink

Re: Bill Pollian Cuts his Radio Show Short

The guy has given you a decade full of success, built an amazing team, played a huge role in why the Colts won a Super Bowl and now everyone is angry at him because of one game. How quickly Colts fans have forgotten about everything the man has built in Indianapolis.

Re: Bill Pollian Cuts his Radio Show Short

The guy has given you a decade full of success, built an amazing team, played a huge role in why the Colts won a Super Bowl and now everyone is angry at him because of one game. How quickly Colts fans have forgotten about everything the man has built in Indianapolis.

Exactly. As a Jets fan I only wish we had HALF the success you have had in the last 10 years.

PACER FAN ON STRIKE!!!-The moment the Pacers fire Larry Bird I will cheer for them again.

Re: Bill Pollian Cuts his Radio Show Short

The guy has given you a decade full of success, built an amazing team, played a huge role in why the Colts won a Super Bowl and now everyone is angry at him because of one game. How quickly Colts fans have forgotten about everything the man has built in Indianapolis.

This has been my biggest issue with the whole "we hate Polian" thing lately.

Without him here, we might have had Ricky Williams and Ryan Leaf and be looking like the Detroit Lions here. Without him we're probably not even in the position to win a 15th game this season.

Re: Bill Pollian Cuts his Radio Show Short

I agree with Polian on benching the starters in a meaningless game. But, maybe he could have put it nicer to the fans in his radio show. I don't think he owes an apology though.

It makes sense to bench the starters to avoid injury and give them rest but my only concern is that, whenever the Colts have rested their starters in past seasons, they did not do well in the playoffs. I hope that does not happen.

Re: Bill Pollian Cuts his Radio Show Short

I'm not mad at Polian and I still think he's a much better team president than most - top 3 for sure. I still remember when Robert Irsay was calling the shots. I was estatic when the Colts hired him and I think he's done a wonderful job during his tenure.

However, this was a horrible way to handle this situation. They should've been honest from the moment Caldwell had his press conference on Wednesday and said, "The starter are going to play at least the first half and after that, we'll make a decision on when to rest guys."

If they had just done that, they would've diffused a lot of the anger of the fans. They didn't. They said they were going to approach week 15 essentially the same way they approached week 14 even when asked about this directly. That was complete bull. They didn't want to tip off the Jets, no doubt, but this is what made things so confusing to the fans when they decided to pull the starters just as the offense was starting to click.

Also, instead of being defensive about it and basically saying that they really don't care what the fans think and that they know more than the fans, he should've just apologized for disappointing the fans and promise us that they will do their all to win the Super Bowl. That would've reduced the anger by 50% if he had just done this.

Re: Bill Pollian Cuts his Radio Show Short

Exactly. As a Jets fan I only wish we had HALF the success you have had in the last 10 years.

What if I told you that the Jets would be getting football Jesus, and some years down the road they would be 14-0 with 2 inferior teams left on the schedule and the chance to make history. Would you be ticked if the Jets took out one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time when you had the lead, basically throwing the game?

Obviously it's irrational for a fan to ever expect 16-0. But when you are right there and don't even try, it's pretty upsetting for many.

Re: Bill Pollian Cuts his Radio Show Short

What if I told you that the Jets would be getting football Jesus, and some years down the road they would be 14-0 with 2 inferior teams left on the schedule and the chance to make history. Would you be ticked if the Jets took out one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time when you had the lead, basically throwing the game?

Obviously it's irrational for a fan to ever expect 16-0. But when you are right there and don't even try, it's pretty upsetting for many.

Honestly, I would just be happy that we would be better than the Giants, Dolphins, and Patriots. ( especially the Patriots)

PACER FAN ON STRIKE!!!-The moment the Pacers fire Larry Bird I will cheer for them again.

Re: Bill Pollian Cuts his Radio Show Short

WOW colts fans are getting on my nerves with this. Polian is one of the best GM's around, we always have new young guys that are amazing thanks to his drafting and managing of the personnel. I hate the way people are talking about him. You all will see how spoiled you really were after Polian is no longer running the team.

Re: Bill Pollian Cuts his Radio Show Short

5 quarters away from a perfect regular season. (I know a perfect regular season does not guarantee a SB victory, but neither does resting guys)

----------
The Colts average around 62 offensive plays per game.

5 quarters = roughly 77 plays.

I don't really know how long an average play is but I'm guessing 8 seconds is generous. The average length of each play is probably way less than that.

77x8 seconds = 616 seconds , 616 seconds is roughly 10 Minutes.

We couldn't possibly risk Peyton playing 5-10 more minutes of actual time this season to go for an All-Time Record?
-----------

We are only the 3rd team in the 43 years they've had Super Bowls to even have a shot at it and we gave it away without even trying. The odds of the Colts, or any other team, having another chance is unlikely.

Re: Bill Pollian Cuts his Radio Show Short

What if I told you that the Jets would be getting football Jesus, and some years down the road they would be 14-0 with 2 inferior teams left on the schedule and the chance to make history. Would you be ticked if the Jets took out one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time when you had the lead, basically throwing the game?

Obviously it's irrational for a fan to ever expect 16-0. But when you are right there and don't even try, it's pretty upsetting for many.

Thank you! If the Colts were 13-1 before the Jets game there probably wouldn't be nearly as much of an uproar over resting starters but when you are one of 3 teams to go 14-0 and have a chance to have an undefeated regular season and possibly perfect season only to have management gut the players like that on national TV because they were gutless to go for such a goal yeah it would seriously grate. I mean its a total buzzkill.

That being said I still support the players despite hating Polian, Caldwell and Irsay for a decision that will haunt the franchise forever especially if they don't win an SB this year.

I do think Polian is a great GM but that's all he should be he has way too much power as far as game decisions on who should play vs who shouldn't.

Re: Bill Pollian Cuts his Radio Show Short

WOW colts fans are getting on my nerves with this. Polian is one of the best GM's around, we always have new young guys that are amazing thanks to his drafting and managing of the personnel. I hate the way people are talking about him. You all will see how spoiled you really were after Polian is no longer running the team.

Many GM's could have won one Super Bowl with Peyton Manning as their quarterback for 11 seasons.

He's very good at what he does, but I am convinced there are some GM's out there (Belichcik, Jerry Reese, to name a couple) who could have won more Super Bowls with Manning because they would have built defenses better suited to win in the playoffs.

He's a top 5 or so GM in the league. But he's not "The Best" as many in the football world claim.

He's obviously done a hell of a job assembling the 2009 team and with Caldwell, has fixed some kinks from last year's team (defense and special teams upgrades). If we win the Super Bowl, then I will give him a lot of credit. I do think the defenses him and Dungy built failed us numerous times in the past, but getting the job done this year would make up for a lot of that.

Even if Polian "retires", I bet he'll stay around as a consultant or something to his son. He'll probably have a say in this organization for a long time to come, regardless of whether he's still "President" or not. Things won't be that different with Chris running the show. And hopefully he's not as stubborn as his father.

We're going to see how spoiled we were when Peyton Manning leaves the team, not Bill Polian. If Polian ever leaves before Manning, Manning will still keep leading the charge. We're a playoff lock as long as he stays in his prime, and probably still one even when he is in his waning years ala Elway. Everything hinges on him. When he retires, that's when everything changes. Doesn't really matter which Polian is in charge - either one will have their work cut out.

Re: Bill Pollian Cuts his Radio Show Short

He's a top 5 or so GM in the league. But he's not "The Best" as many in the football world claim.

No one has the resume he does. Not one. I believe he holds the record for most times winning the GM of the year award, and there's a reason for that.

He took an expansion team to the SB in 3 years. That's insane. Other GMs have better seasons, obviously or he would win GMOTY every year, but top to bottom, he is the best.

EDIT: And just because you have someone like Peyton under center doesn't automatically mean you win a ring. Ask the Dolphins and Marino. And then there's Elway that got his on the down slide of his career.

Re: Bill Pollian Cuts his Radio Show Short

I agree we Colts fans are spoiled by the success the team has had. I agree that Polian is a GREAT GM, and I don't think he's the devil for what happened. I agree with a lot of sentiment put forth regarding not being so upset about the decision to pull the starters.

Having said that, I'll still never forget that the Colts pissed away the opportunity to be perfect and make history for no good reason. I'll never adhere to the theory that resting the starters is the right call in that situation. If we weren't undefeated and there was nothing special going on, then yeah, rest the starters even if it kinda shafts the fans who came to that game. I think we can all agree on that. Given the fact that the possibility of perfection was there, the Colts should've respected history and realized that there are some things worth fighting for.

Anyone who doesn't think it felt WRONG to see Manning and the starters stewing on the sidelines as the game was given away just doesn't get it, in my opinion.

And I don't adhere to the notion of fans of inferior teams who think we should just be thankful for our success and stop complaining. Until you are here, in this situation, you can't accurately answer what you would do or how you would feel. The success we've been spoiled with has also empowered us to strive for something more. That "something more" was within reach, and we just sat on our hands and gave it away.

Re: Bill Pollian Cuts his Radio Show Short

No one has the resume he does. Not one. I believe he holds the record for most times winning the GM of the year award, and there's a reason for that.

He took an expansion team to the SB in 3 years. That's insane. Other GMs have better seasons, obviously or he would win GMOTY every year, but top to bottom, he is the best.

EDIT: And just because you have someone like Peyton under center doesn't automatically mean you win a ring. Ask the Dolphins and Marino. And then there's Elway that got his on the down slide of his career.

Don Nelson is tied for the most coach of the year awards in the NBA. I don't hear many out there saying Nellie is the best coach in the NBA.

Besides, the GM of the year award is a very unfair way to judge the best GM. Belichick (the best GM in the league, IMO) as a coach isn't even able to win the award, despite the fact that he has always had the final say in New England's personal matters. He is basically the Polian of the Patriots along with being coach, he just doesn't technically have the title. That's why Scott Pioli was the won who actually won the award. But it was BB who was doing the bulk of the work.

I never said having a quarterback like Manning guaranteed you a ring. Clearly the Dolphins didn't have as good a GM as Polian running things, as they had many mediocre years in Marino's prime (but then I don't think Marino was quite as good as Manning either). I never said that every single GM out there could have built a championship team with Manning. What I did say is that I think there other skilled GM's in the NFL who could have at least matched the 1 ring that Polian won in his first 11 rings than Manning. And I do think there are a couple other executives out there who could have won multiple titles with Manning, such as Belichick.

Aren't you on record numerous times as saying Manning is a better quarterback than Brady? Well, if Belichick was able to build three champions with Brady as his quarterback, don't you think he could have had somewhat similar success if he would have had Peyton Manning in Indianapolis?

There is a perception out there that the Colts spent a good chunk of the 2000's fielding defenses that were ill-suited to play in the playoffs.

Another thing that hurts Polian is that he continually presses for resting players despite not having the results to back him up. Meanwhile, Belichick always goes full steam ahead and has had more postseason success in this decade than anyone else. I don't think that's a coincidence.

If we win it all this year then that will certainly be a huge feather in Polian's cap. So far though, Belichick-constructed teams has have far more postseason success than Polian's teams, which have generally underachieved in January.

Re: Bill Pollian Cuts his Radio Show Short

5 quarters away from a perfect regular season. (I know a perfect regular season does not guarantee a SB victory, but neither does resting guys)

----------
The Colts average around 62 offensive plays per game.

5 quarters = roughly 77 plays.

I don't really know how long an average play is but I'm guessing 8 seconds is generous. The average length of each play is probably way less than that.

77x8 seconds = 616 seconds , 616 seconds is roughly 10 Minutes.

We couldn't possibly risk Peyton playing 5-10 more minutes of actual time this season to go for an All-Time Record?
-----------

We are only the 3rd team in the 43 years they've had Super Bowls to even have a shot at it and we gave it away without even trying. The odds of the Colts, or any other team, having another chance is unlikely.

I'll never get that...... never ever ever ever.

That's what it boils down to.

Yes, Manning "could" get hurt. He could also get in a car wreck driving to the Colts complex. He could also get struck by lightning.

It was a miniscule risk/extremely high reward (as in becoming the best team ever) scenario.

If you have the chance to make history like that, you play Manning. Everything over his 12 year career shows you that he is one of the most durable guys to ever play the game. He is the master at avoiding hits and injury. I really don't see how someone can convince themselves that it was important for him to get rest. A quarter and a half in Manning's career is like one atom amongst trillions - it means nothing in the grand scheme of things. He's not going to be the slightest bit sluggish if he plays an extra quarter, and to think so is ignoring what he has done his entire career. Manning plays with the same intensity and effectiveness whether it's week 1 or week 15. He actually seems to get better as the season rolls on. Resting a guy who is at the absolute apex of his game for a quarter isn't going to benefit him at all. Peyton Manning is built to play 16 complete NFL games a year along with as many playoff games as the Colts are fortunate to play in. He's going to be the exact same player in the playoffs whether he plays that extra quarter or not, and that's why you play him.

In 12 years, he has missed 1 play and Zero games due to injury. When you have those odds on your side, you play him the extra freaking quarter and go for history. To not do so ignores the basic common sense of risk/reward scenarios.

Re: Bill Pollian Cuts his Radio Show Short

Don Nelson is tied for the most coach of the year awards in the NBA. I don't hear many out there saying Nellie is the best coach in the NBA.

Besides, the GM of the year award is a very unfair way to judge the best GM. Belichick (the best GM in the league, IMO) as a coach isn't even able to win the award, despite the fact that he has always had the final say in New England's personal matters. He is basically the Polian of the Patriots along with being coach, he just doesn't technically have the title. That's why Scott Pioli was the won who actually won the award. But it was BB who was doing the bulk of the work.

I never said having a quarterback like Manning guaranteed you a ring. Clearly the Dolphins didn't have as good a GM as Polian running things, as they had many mediocre years in Marino's prime (but then I don't think Marino was quite as good as Manning either). I never said that every single GM out there could have built a championship team with Manning. What I did say is that I think there other skilled GM's in the NFL who could have at least matched the 1 ring that Polian won in his first 11 rings than Manning. And I do think there are a couple other executives out there who could have won multiple titles with Manning, such as Belichick.

Aren't you on record numerous times as saying Manning is a better quarterback than Brady? Well, if Belichick was able to build three champions with Brady as his quarterback, don't you think he could have had somewhat similar success if he would have had Peyton Manning in Indianapolis?

There is a perception out there that the Colts spent a good chunk of the 2000's fielding defenses that were ill-suited to play in the playoffs.

Another thing that hurts Polian is that he continually presses for resting players despite not having the results to back him up. Meanwhile, Belichick always goes full steam ahead and has had more postseason success in this decade than anyone else. I don't think that's a coincidence.

If we win it all this year then that will certainly be a huge feather in Polian's cap. So far though, Belichick-constructed teams has have far more postseason success than Polian's teams, which have generally underachieved in January.

Soooo you're saying that Polian isn't the best GM because the best GM is someone who has never even held the position? Interesting.

Polians career record for the teams he is over is 228-138. Negating the first season of transition at every stop including an expansion team, that record is 212-90. Keep in mind we know what he took over here, in Buffalo he took over a team that had back to back 2-14 years, and an expansion team. You seem willing to go to any lengths to demean Polian. Even considering Belichick a better GM when he's never even had the position.

Belichick walked into New England with 4 losing seasons and 1 winning season on his resume. He showed up at the same time as Tom Brady. Their single biggest personnel decision in the last 10 years he had no control over. If he was given "last word" over personnel decisions then it wasn't until recently. You seem to be taking this "genius" of Bill Belichick that we see now and pasting it on the BB of the year 2000. When at that point he was just another coach with a losing record in his career.

Polian has done this in 3 different stops. I still have doubts that BB can duplicate this success if he ever leaves New England unless he does like Phil Jackson and follows the already established talent.

Re: Bill Pollian Cuts his Radio Show Short

ok so yes the colts did **** away and oppertounity at excellence....and yes that will make the colt the laughing stock of the NFL....well forever!

But you all must remeber this what did we have to gain by winning that game.....another w? yeah sure we could have went to 16-0 that would have been awesome.....oh hell we could have gone all the way to the superbowl undefated....but i remind you all of the 18-1 patorits(which i still hate with utter passion!!!) who were favored to blow the giants out of the water.....they got cocky and well they lost.

i would much rather loss 1 or 2 at the end of the season buy letting the starts rest and win the superbowl, than end up the the 2007 pats!

now i know that anything at anytime could happen to peyton manning but i would much rather have him sitting on the bench the second half of a freebie game, then to have him suffer a season or career ending injury. you know because or second string QB is just so awesome......not!

now on the subject of the colts desicion of pulling the starters....i have to say this......yes they should have been honest with the fans about possible pulling the starters.....it was wrong of caldwell to say yes we are doing nothing differnt.....he was wrong to not answer the direct question about pulling the starters. yes im sorry to the fans who did pay high ticket prices and were extremly disapponited. football fans are intense and colts fans are insane, the front office should have known this would have cause an outrage!!!!!

Im absolutly sure there descion was not made lightly and im sure they had consulted for several weeks on that descion and when it was going to happen. but please all remeber this.....it is there team to run. PERIOD! you dont have to agree with them all the time or any of the time.....but if your a fan your a fan and if your not your not.....

Now lets stand behind our Indianapolis Colts(including there front office) and LETS CHEER THEM ON TO ANOTHER SUPER WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!